Mars rover Curiosity scoops, detects bright object

October 9, 2012

This image from the right Mast Camera (Mastcam) of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity shows a scoop full of sand and dust lifted by the rover's first use of the scoop on its robotic arm. In the foreground, near the bottom of the image, a bright object is visible on the ground. The object might be a piece of rover hardware. This image was taken during the mission's 61st Martian day, or sol (Oct. 7, 2012), the same sol as the first scooping. After examining Sol 61 imaging, the rover team decided to refrain from using the arm on Sol 62 (Oct. 8). Instead, the rover was instructed to acquire additional imaging of the bright object, on Sol 62, to aid the team in assessing possible impact, if any, to sampling activities. For scale, the scoop is 1.8 inches (4.5 centimeters) wide, 2.8 inches (7 centimeters) long. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

NASA officials say the Curiosity rover has made its first scoop of the surface of planet Mars and has detected a bright object on the ground.

Officials said in a news release Monday that they suspect the object might be a part of the six-wheeled rover, but they won't sample or scoop anymore until they figure out what it is.

The Curiosity has already beamed back pictures of bedrock that suggest a fast-moving stream once flowed on the planet.

Video: This video clip shows the first Martian material collected by the scoop on the robotic arm of NASA's Mars Curiosity rover, being vibrated inside the scoop after it was lifted from the ground on Oct. 7, 2012. The clip includes 256 frames from Curiosity's Mast Camera, taken at about eight frames per second, plus interpolated frames to run at actual speed in this 32-frames-per-second version. The scoop was vibrated to discard any overfill. Churning due to vibration also serves to show physical characteristics of the collected material, such as an absence of pebbles. The scoop is 1.8 inches (4.5 centimeters) wide, 2.8 inches (7 centimeters) long. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

The rover landed Aug. 5 and is on a two-year, $2.5 billion mission to study whether microbial life could have existed on Mars in the past.

Today's Mars is a frozen desert, but previous geological studies suggest it was once warmer and wetter.

For the past week, the rover, which touched down on August 6, has undergone a series of instrument tests, as well as a rebooting of its steering computers, and everything so far appears fine, according to officials with the ...

Scientists on Tuesday prepared to send Curiosity on its first test drive over the billion-year-old rocks of Mars and said a busted wind sensor won't jeopardize its mission of determining whether life could exist there.

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20 comments

I see no bright object in the foreground near the bottom of the image, and this the third version of the image that I have seen. Perhaps the "object" in question is the tiny grey glint of light reflecting from the surface by way of the corner of the edge of the scoop.

The object they are referring to is a very tiny silver sliver sitting on the ground that is about the size of one of the dirt clods. Expand the image to full size and look at the bottom 10% of the image mid way between the suction cup looking thingy and the bracket on the right you will see it. It is very tiny and has a silver color.

It looks like there may be some other tiny pieces around the main piece. I certainly don't like the idea of pieces falling off of the rover. .I'll also be a little pissed if we flip it over and see "Made in China" on the back. "Made on Mars" would be pretty cool, though.